The Writings Of Thomas Paine, Volume III.: 1791-1804 — John Shaqi
The Writings Of Thomas Paine, Volume III.: 1791-1804Paine, Thomas
History
The Writings Of Thomas Paine, Volume III.: 1791-1804
Paine, Thomas
Political science
The Seven are wrapt in the flames of their enthusiasm. Albion's Prince
sends to America his thirteen Angels, who, however, there become
Governors of the thirteen States. It is difficult to discover from
Blake's mystical visions how much political radicalism was in him, but
he certainly saved Paine from the scaffold by forewarning him (September
13, 1792) that an order had been issued for his arrest. Without
repeating the story told in Gilchrist's "Life of Blake," and in my "Life
of Paine," I may add here my belief that Paine also appears in one of
Blake's pictures. The picture is in the National Gallery (London), and
called "The spiritual form of Pitt guiding Behemoth." The monster jaws
of Behemoth are full of struggling men, some of whom stretch imploring
hands to another spiritual form, who reaches down from a crescent
moon in the sky, as if to rescue them. This face and form appear to me
certainly meant for Paine.
Acting on Blake's warning Paine's friends got him off to Dover, where,
after some trouble, related in a letter to Dundas (see p. 41 of this
volume), he reached Calais. He had been elected by four departments to
the National Convention, and selected Calais, where he was welcomed
with grand civic parades. On September 19, 1792, he arrived in Paris,
stopping at "White's Hotel," 7 Passage des Pétits Pères, about five
minutes' walk from the Salle de Manége, where, on September 21st, the
National Convention opened its sessions. The spot is now indicated by a
tablet on the wall of the Tuileries Garden, Rue de Rivoli. On that
day Paine was introduced to the Convention by the Abbé Grégoire, and
received with acclamation.
The French Minister in London, Chauvelin, had sent to his government
(still royalist) a despatch unfavorable to Paine's work in England, part
of which I translate:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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